Posted
by
simonikeron Sunday June 13, 2004 @08:42AM
from the arcades-not-quite-coughing-up-blood dept.

Thanks to GameSpot for its interview with seminal game designer Eugene Jarvis, best known "for arcade titles from the eighties... including Defender, Robotron, NARC, [and] Smash T.V.", discussing his attempts to revitalize the arcade market. The article mentions his recently released, terrorism-themed Target: Terror lightgun arcade shooter, apparently "the number two most profitable arcade game in its first month in general release" - Jarvis comments of the content: "So Target: Terror is this extreme paranoia, but gosh, it could be real. We take it to the extreme--they're taking over the Golden Gate Bridge and you have to retake that." It's also revealed of Jarvis that "This Fall, his three-year-old, self-funded company, Raw Thrills, will debut its second arcade title, The Fast and the Furious, a driving title based on the Universal Pictures film of the same name." We previously covered Target: Terror earlier this year on Slashdot Games.

I'm glad in 2004 there are still arcade games out there that are using the 1994 "Revolution, starring Aerosmith"- technology. Well, at least SOMEONE is still making arcade games. I am sick of seeing the same games everytime I goto any arcade. I don't know how "Dave and Busters" et al, stays in business.

Those screenshots look absolutely horrifying, but if you watch the trailer [freecache.org] (it's a freecache link, so hopefully it won't be/.ed) it doesn't look quite as bad.

I dunno, I'm still kinda skeptical about it, but if I ever see it in an arcade I'll probably give it a spin. I mean hey - it's a light-gun game, all you have to do is shoot people, maybe I'm wrong, but it can't get that bad, can it?

or die. In my opinion, arcades would be much more successfull if they invested in high-quality hardware that can't be matched by consoles. And I don't mean high-quality graphics. I'm more inclined to full F1 car or fighter plance cockpits with multi-head display and 3D sound. How many people have the space for one of those at home?

I always thought that arcades should have leveraged the control the owners have over them and setup a giant game-playing network, ensuring that even if there wasn't local competition ther would be competition from somewhere. Sadly, now the arcade owners would only be on par with consoles if they networked, but it is something they will have to do... and soon.

They also need to profit share [chriscanfield.net] with the people who develop arcade games if they want to survive.

Of course, the best games in the arcade right now (and for a long time) have been DDR and Konami's motion-tracking system setups. Apparently American Sammy was also tremendously successful with that soccerball - kicking game that everyone recognizes. Why we don't have more creative hardware-based games is beyond me, but that mantra of console compatibility that dominated the industry in the 90's needs to end.

That's where you're wrong. Those huge mammoth simulators cost tens of thousands of dollars... no arcade owner can possibly expect to buy one and turn a profit... even at $1 a play... and, honestly, how many times are you going to put a dollar in the same game? So, those games are usually leased.

You'll notice that arcades are all turning to redemption games, because that's the only place right now where they can make any profit.

I'm hoping to see the return of the "social" aspect of arcades. Like, fo

This is obviously wrong. I can put together, from shelf parts, a three headed cockpit with force feedback wheel, pedals and shift-gear based off a high-end PC for an ammount around five thousand dollars. Here, one needs to add the cockpit itself, made out of fiberglass or something like that, which wouldn't cost over a hundred bucks even if custom-made. Add mass production discounts, and it's in the range of a

But they don't use PCs in arcade games; they're dedicated PCBs which must be engineered and manufactured. Then there are the programming costs, the expense of the EEPROMs and other silicon, the rest of the hardware engineering, and so forth. Don't forget advertising, shipping, etc. You haven't taken any of that into consideration.

But they don't use PCs in arcade games; they're dedicated PCBs which must be engineered and manufactured. Then there are the programming costs, the expense of the EEPROMs and other silicon, the rest of the hardware engineering, and so forth. Don't forget advertising, shipping, etc. You haven't taken any of that into consideration.

I didn't because all of those factors play in my favor. Custom gaming hardware, much like console hardware, can be produced cheaper than regular PCs. In any case, if this is

To understand why arcade games became a dead pasttime in America, you have to understand why they are so popular in Japan. It's quite simple actually.

Japan is condensed. Children over there like to rebel against their parents, get out of the house, and partake in some escapism and vices. What's better than beer, cigarettes, and arcade machines? Having them all in one centralized place where all of your friends can meet up. With the popularity of more social/active games rising (DDR, Beatmania, Donkey Konga, etc) - it's no wonder why arcades are so popular over here.

The inverse of the arcade's rise to popularity in Japan explains why they just fell apart here:

1. They are usually targeted at younger kids, i.e. kids who have $5, and that's it, cuz their mom is shoe shopping next door and doesn't trust the kid to not go off with a stranger and be kidnapped.2. Arcades in the 80's were a haven for the 'geek' archetype. Once people could play games in their own home (most of which were better than the arcade variant), the geeks started staying at home. We're anti-social, am i rite?3. Dave and Buster's is aiming for the Japanese style arcade where smoking, drinking, and social gaming rules the roost. Unfortunately they card you at the front door. So if you're under 21 without a parent you can't get in, so they don't get the foot traffic a regular non-smoking, non-alcohol-serving arcade gets.

Arcades died because of the home hardware/cost cycle caught up with the arcades. There was never a drastic enough difference in visual quality or game play to go the arcade when you could just have the friends over and play. Plus the arcade generation started to grow up and leave or had kids or the real world just started calling in general. The big arcade companies are going to have to innovate, push the limits like in the old days and improve the experience. Which means

But your hypothesis doesn't address why arcades and arcade games are still successful in Japan (which the parent post does address).

Actually it did, to some extent, though I don't think the author realized it. The custom characters (et.c) memory card idea has been in big use in some of the more profitable Japanese arcade games for at least a few years. For example, Virtua Fighter 4 and Virtual On Force use them to great effect (and profit!). You could reasonably argue that pretty much these games alone ha

seriously if anyone thinks this game nomatter how
legendary (and cool) the author, is going to
revitalize the arcade they are smoking the same
thing I was when I lived and breathed his original
classics (stargate..robotron..)
I expected arcade games to have evolved about 100
or so in magnitude from the Virtuality systems
of the early 90's. What the hell happened?
kvn